Heb. 6:1–2 Therefore leaving the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of Repentance from dead works, and of Faith toward God, Of the Doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of Resurrection of the dead, and of Eternal Judgment. ======================================= The above quoted Scriptures are those used by individuals who claim that the Cross, although proper for Salvation, has no meaning thereafter, and that the Believer should go beyond the Cross. There is, however, nothing beyond the Cross, as there needs to be nothing beyond the Cross. These individuals are basing their belief system on a gross misinterpretation of the Scriptures, which we will address here. We must, first of all, understand that the entirety of the Bible points to Christ, both Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament points to Christ Who was to come, while the New Testament points to Christ Who has come. Christ and the Cross are ever before the Reader in the entirety of the Word of God (Jn. 1:1). When Paul said, “Therefore leaving the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ,” he was speaking of the first principles (Heb. 5:12), which pertained to the Law of the Moses. The entirety of the Law of Moses, and in every capacity, pointed to Christ, which it was meant to do. With Christ now having come, it is not proper, Paul tells these Christian Jews, to try to cling to the old Law. It has already been fulfilled in Christ. Consequently, we should leave those first principles of the Law. The phrase, “Let us go on unto perfection,” should have been translated, “maturity.” The Apostle is saying that it’s not possible for the Believer to mature when he is improperly addressing Christ, i.e., when he is going back to the Law. The phrase, “Not laying again the foundation of Repentance from dead works,” had to do with repentance as it regarded the animal sacrifices. Due to the fact that Christ has come and has gone to the Cross, thereby atoning for all sin, the Sacrificial System of old is now adjudged to be “dead works.” Repentance must be on the basis of what Christ has done at the Cross, and not on the Sacrificial System of old (I Jn. 1:7). The short phrase, “And of faith toward God,” refers, as here stated, to improper faith. It is faith toward God based on the old Sacrificial System, which the Lord now will not accept. Our faith must be in Christ and what Christ has done at the Cross (Rom. 6:1–14). The phrase, “Of the Doctrine of baptisms,” should have been translated “of the Doctrine of Washings,” which is what the original Greek actually says. The “washings” mentioned here had to do, once again, with the animal sacrifices, which required washings before they were offered up on the Altar. It also referred to the Priests, who had to wash in the Brazen Laver, both hands and feet, every time they entered into the Holy Place of the Tabernacle or Temple. The phrase, “And of laying on of hands,” is not pertaining to the custom of laying on of hands to bless people, or to pray for their healing, etc., but rather of the sinner who had brought the lamb for sacrifice. Just before the lamb was killed, the sinner laid his hands on the lamb’s head and confessed his sins. That is no longer needed, as should be obvious, inasmuch as Jesus has gone to the Cross. Now, we pray to God the Father in the Name of Jesus, confessing our sins (Jn. 16:23; I Jn. 1:9). The phrase, “And of Resurrection of the dead,” simply means that before the Resurrection of Christ, the fact of the Resurrection was known only in shadow. Now, since the Resurrection of Christ, there is a far greater understanding. The phrase, “And of Eternal Judgment,” was, in Old Testament times, also known only with very little knowledge. In fact, during those times, God was looked at more so as a Judge than a Saviour. So, it shows a great misunderstanding of these Passages of Scripture for Believers to use them to claim that Believers are to leave the Cross after getting saved and go on to other things. I hope this is, by now, overly obvious. It is impossible to go beyond the Cross, because every single thing the Lord does is based on the foundation of the Cross, and in totality. That’s why Paul said, “We preach Christ Crucified” (I Cor. 1:23). In fact, the Cross of Christ is an Everlasting Covenant (Heb. 13:20). -The Expositor’s Word For Every Day
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 06:13:32 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015